Henman thrives on new freedom

Tim Henman's new philosophy, one that helped him win the Paris Indoor title last year, his first major trophy, and has now taken him into the quarter-finals of the French Open today against Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, is startlingly simple: do your own thing and do it well. And it comes courtesy of Pete Sampras's former coach Paul Annacone, who has been working with the British No1 since last autumn.

"When everything feels good and you're playing well, it's an easy game," Annacone said yesterday. "Pete is the one who taught me that. He used to say: 'Look, if I play well there's nothing to worry about. No one's going to beat me.' And it's the same for Tim. It's that simple."

Annacone, who was at the side of Sampras for nine of his 14 grand slam titles, is an uncomplicated, straightforward man who famously said of his relationship with Sampras: "You don't tinker with a Ferrari." Patently Henman is not in that class, but there is no better volleyer in the current game and Annacone's aim is to get the best out of him by making sure he plays to his strengths.

The American coach has also been hugely encouraged by the way Henman has fought back twice from being two sets down in his first- and fourth-round matches at Roland Garros. "You can come up with a thousand reasons not to compete, or ways to get out of putting yourself on the line. The great players try to find a way to fight through. To me, that's a huge indication not only of character but also the desire to compete. Tim's done that twice now, which is tremendous.

"If he plays well and plays the wrong way, he could lose. If he plays well and plays the right way, he won't lose. If he plays the right way and he plays poorly, he could still win. That's the difference, and that's what he's starting to understand."

Henman has talked extensively in Paris, and throughout the clay-court season - in which he reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo - of playing to his strengths and not being constricted by placing too much pressure on himself.

"If Tim continues to believe in himself and the way he's playing, he's going to create more opportunities like this. And then we will see how he handles that situation," said Annacone. "It doesn't happen very easily and, the older you get, the more difficult it is. Tim has made incremental jumps in his game, which has been great.

"There's no reason why his best tennis can't be for the next two years. Whether that means winning a title here or Wimbledon or the US Open, I don't know. There's no reason why he can't. We've seen him beat the best players in the world."

Henman, 29, has always believed he would be at the top of his game late in his career, but just before last year's Paris Indoor his confidence was at a low ebb. "He was really down. He knew he wasn't hopeless but he just wondered how he got so off-track," said Annacone.

"It was pretty clear Tim was probably the best volleyer in the world, and the best mover at the net in the world in a time when that game is a little bit foreign. So you have to maximise those skills and figure out ways to create opportunities to end up at the net as much as you can. It's not that complicated."

But Annacone is well aware that, unlike Sampras, concentration has never been Henman's strongest suit. "Pete was great at blocking everything out and Tim isn't as disciplined. All I want him to do today is to go out there and play on his terms. If he loses, he loses. He's done a great job so far; he's getting better and better and understanding more and more what he wants to do."

Henman practised yesterday lunchtime on one of the outside courts, concentrating specifically on his return of serve. His South African fitness trainer Johan de Beer served at him from mid-court while Annacone supervised. It was mixture of the intense and the light-hearted, with Henman appearing extremely relaxed.

For Chela, the French Open is his Wimbledon. "All the Spaniards and Argentines want to do well here. It is by far our biggest tournament of the year," he said. He would have much preferred to play France's Michael Llodra than Henman. "Tim has a better head on him and more experience."

The Argentinian, who like Henman had never previously gone beyond the third round here, was far from his best against France's Olivier Mutis in the fourth round. "It was my first time on the centre court and I was a bit nervous," said Chela.

He was also troubled by nerves when he tried to close the match out. However, he feels he has improved immensely this year under the coaching of Gabriel Markus, who has made him work much harder, improved his serve, and tried to get him forward towards the net more often.

Henman played on the centre court for the first time last year when he lost in the third round to Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, the eventual champion, after taking the first set. Now, this time, he is only one match away from the French Open semi-finals. It takes some believing.